Earth/Environment

A UK cruise ship's destruction of pristine coral reefs on Raja Ampat in Indonesia calls for action that goes beyond compensation. It reminds of the need to develop ways to prevent massive destruction of coral reefs by similar incidents in the future.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide hits an all-time high while the United Kingdom is experiencing its record low of their CO2 emission. The drop, according to a think tank, is attributed mainly to the carbon tax which the government is vigorously implementing.

The MS Caledonian Sky damaged 17,222 square feet of coral reefs in Raja Ampat in Indonesia last March 4 as it ran across them at low tide. The affected reefs are estimated to recover in a matter of decades.

The Bogoslof Volcano in Alaska, which has exploded for more than 35 times, has erupted again and resulted in an ash cloud. The explosion lasted for 12 minutes but has not made the AVO issue aviation warning.

Remotely operated submarine Boaty McBoatface is off to its first scientific mission in the Antarctic. Amid naming controversies, the UK polar research ship will probe water flow and turbulence in the dark recesses of the Orkney Passage.

A new study has revealed that ocean temperatures are rising at a faster pace than scientists previously anticipated. The research compared oceanic temperature data between 1960 and 2015 with the help of the latest technologies.

The melting of the arctic sea ice can be largely blamed on man-made activities such as emission of Earth-warming greenhouse gases. A new study, however, revealed that natural causes remain a significant factor to this phenomenon.

Six years after the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, a study assures residents of Date City in Fukushima that they do not have to worry about dangerous radiation levels. How safe is the median lifetime radiation dose in the most contaminated part of the city?

The weakened magnetic power and the alarming fall of geomagnetism at an area in the Southern Hemisphere known as the South Atlantic Anomaly point to an eventual geomagnetic pole reversal. How will such an occurrence affect the Earth and its inhabitants?

Boosting the clean energy pledge of Apple, operations in Japan will be moving to 100 percent renewable energy use thanks to local supplier Ibiden’s 20 new facilities. Among them is a solar island that will generate 12 MW of solar power.

Contrary to the perception that trees absorb carbon dioxide in bulk, a study by Western Sydney University has shown that the capacity for storage of carbon dioxide is not substantial. This was proved in reference to Eucalyptus trees in Australia.

Famous physicist Stephen Hawking has cautioned that technological strides that helped humans achieve insurmountable feats will also lead to their demise. He sees threats coming from nuclear war, biological war and advancements like artificial intelligence.

Analysis of the Newport-Inglewood and Rose Canyon faults revealed that the region is capable of a powerful earthquake that can range from a magnitude 6.7 to 7.4. This poses concern since the quake would likely impact densely populated parts of California.

At least 110 people have died in the last 48 hours as the East African country of Somalia is on the brink of another famine. President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has recently declared the present drought as a national disaster.

The Amazon rainforest has always been viewed as pristine and untouched by humans. But a new study has concluded that the forests may have been largely shaped by trees cultivated by early settlers thousands of years ago.

A leaked White House memo reveals planned NOAA budget cuts, feared to put climate change research - and lives - at risk. Just how exactly will these U.S. environmental budget cuts affect weather satellites and related initiatives?

The Batagaika Crater, also known as the 'doorway to hell,' is the result of melting permafrost in Siberia. The crater offers climate scientists an opportunity to view more than 200,000 years of climate change in the region.

The Environmental Protection Agency has lifted the order that required oil and gas companies to report the equipment they used and their level of methane emissions. The decision once again highlights EPA Chief Scott Pruitt's deep ties with fossil fuel industry leaders.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has announced record-high heat in Antarctica at 63.5 degrees Fahrenheit, recorded last March 24, 2015. Here are other record highs and lows in temperature amid climate change.

One home every minute must be insulated in the United Kingdom to decrease the country's carbon emissions, a new report suggests. However, experts say achieving this standard by 2050 might prove difficult.

One in five species on Earth is now threatened by extinction and the number could rise to 50 percent by 2100. These are some warnings of experts attending the Biological Extinction workshop at the Vatican this week.

A staggering 84 percent of all wildfires in the United States are caused by humans, with the remaining 16 percent ignited by lightning. Learn more about human-induced wildfires and how they can be managed and controlled.

While still recovering from the worst coral bleaching event ever in 2016, the Great Barrier Reef is likely facing another impending threat. It could undergo another widespread bleaching this year, according to the reef authority.

Using satellite mapping as an indicator, a new metric has been developed for tracking deforestation in the United States. The satellite mapping can detect the average distance to the nearest forest from any point in the United States.

Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere as claimed by the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC) has been challenged in a new study. It says IPCC ignores natural sources of emissions and the focus is on fossil fuel emissions.